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Al-Qiblatain Mosque is an old mosque dating from the
time of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It was
originally built by Bani Salamah, who were of the Al-Khazraj tribe, on a
small hill near Wadi Al-`Aqeeq. It is five kilometres northwest of the
Prophet’s Mosque.
It is called Al-Qiblatain because of the report that
some of the Companions had faced two different Qiblahs (the direction of
prayer), during one prayer. The original Qiblah for Muslims was toward
Jerusalem. In the second year of the hijrah, Allah, the Almighty,
revealed the verse of the Qur'an (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 144) to
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, to change the Qiblah
to the Ka`bah at the Sacred Haram (the Grand Mosque) in Makkah. At the
time of this revelation, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be
upon him, dispatched one of the Companions to convey the newly revealed
verse to the Muslims in the outskirts of the city. The emissary arrived
at the mosque of Bani Salamah, while the people were engaged in prayer.
He announced the news to them that Allah, the Almighty, had changed the
Qiblah. Upon hearing of this new revelation while they prayed, they
immediately changed the direction of their prayer.
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